Finally, Dymphna was able to get back to her video game, and Gage got back to his reading. Before Skylar started cooking dinner, she took him out into the back yard to practice.
She set up a barrier with her magic around a fire pit in the back yard so that any errant magic wouldn't get out of hand and damage something. Gage stomped his feet in the snow. Hopefully using magic would increase his body heat because he wasn't at all used to how cold it was in Boston in the middle of winter versus Miami at any point. Skylar gave him a sympathetic look. “It gets better. You'll adapt.”
“I sure hope so. What do we do first?”
“You were doing the reading. You tell me. That way I'll also get a good measure of how much you absorbed from just reading.”
“First you advised candle lighting.”
“Good. I brought the candles too,” she said as she procured them from a back pocket. Gage was grateful he didn't have to go back inside and waste more time. “I shouldn't use my magic any more than I can avoid. Dymphna hasn't been able to give me a magic infusion in the past few days, and having twins means that I need all the energy I can muster.”
“I understand. So I go into my meditation breathing like I've practiced for years to control my magic from escaping. But instead of dampening my power, I'm going to try to draw it out of myself. Then I manipulate that feeling into lighting the candle.”
“Good, yes.”
“I assume that the execution is not as easy as the theory.”
“Not at all. But give it a try.”
He did his best to pull his magic out from within himself. He really tried, but wasn't having much success. Luckily, Skylar was patiently waiting.
“Here, I'll do it, and see if you can sense my magic and how I pull it so that you'll know for your own use.” He concentrated on Skylar. When he tried, Gage was able to sense, as she said, a red-colored thread of magic reach from her chest and pull towards the candle. It caressed the wick, and the candle lit. “Now you try.”
Gage tried the same thing. He was able to access the magic and pull it to him, but he didn't have any control over it from there. The candle in the middle of the fire pit went up in an inferno, lighting the wood that had been there before as well. Skylar quickly put it out with her magic.
“Unfortunately, I need to go make dinner. I'll leave the barrier I put up there and I'll bring you a fire extinguisher. Feel free to try for as long as you can stay warm enough out here.”
“I will.” He stayed out about another hour, but by the end of that time, he was getting a controlled burn on the candle three-quarters of the times he tried to light it. However, he was about to freeze, and Skylar was gesturing that dinner was ready, so he came in.
“How did it go?” She asked, setting his plate in front of him.
“I think it went pretty well. I'm actually starting to get some success with lighting it and not consuming it entirely.”
“Good. Speaking of magic, do you think you could do an infusion for me tonight, Dymphna?”
“Oh of course. I'm sorry that I've been forgetting to help you with that.”
“It's not a worry. Fiona's potions do a good job of making up for missing days. I just don't want to take any chances.”
“Of course not. I'm always glad to help. How was work today, Leo?”
Gage could tell the question as posed by his sister caught him by surprise. But he regained his composure quickly and went into a story about his latest office secretary. Apparently the practice was having a hard time finding someone who could do the job consistently well.
Dymphna responded in kind by telling her brother about what they had done in town to get married. Leo and Skylar were surprised that Gage took the family name, but they were pleased by it. He also agreed that removing the Redman name was a better idea than making Dymphna a Redman as well. Gage told them about his resignation with the school principal. Dymphna's easy smile through dinner made all the trouble worth it. He was committed to her, and he'd do it right, damn it.
“I don't think I'll be able to find a position for the spring semester and get my teaching certificate changed to a Massachusetts one in time to start working in a month when the kids go back to school,” he admitted.
“I'm perfectly able to take care of the bills and such,” Dymphna reassured him. “And Justin has been pestering me to work with him on Coven Protection. I'd bet that he'd be even more happy to get you since you know a lot more about the inner workings of the organization than I do.”
“My mother knows even more than I do. She called earlier and asked if I'd find her a reasonable apartment in the area. If I can do that, she'll move up here and work on finding a job when she gets here. But if you wanted someone who knew all about the previous Redman's Order, it's her.”
“She's a blood witch, right?” Leo asked placidly.
“Yes. She doesn't practice with anything stronger than what she can get at a butcher's, but she gets awfully sick without it.”
“I'm not here to judge,” Leo assured him. “But I know that Justin has put some new protective spells around the Coven House to keep blood witches out. He made noises about putting them here too, but I'm pretty sure I dissuaded him. So if you're going to do anything with your mother, do it here and not at the Coven House.”
“I understand.”
“Good. Justin and Seb wanted to get to know you better, so I invited them over after dinner. I hope no one minds.”
To be honest, Gage was nervous about meeting Dymphna's other brothers again. He wasn't precisely at his best when they met before, and he was aware that his family's past was a major detractor against him when it came to being Dymphna's husband. But at the same time, he knew that if he had a sister, he'd be protective of her as well. So when Dymphna and Skylar shook their heads, he shook his as well.
Gage volunteered to clean up so that his wife could go show her brother what she'd been doing in Skyrim. For someone who had never really taken a break from work before, she was taking to it like a fish to water. That was good too because her stress levels must have been sky high while she was working eighty-hour weeks.
From the kitchen he heard Skylar letting in the four other Wards. It sounded like they had left the infants back at the Coven House. He finished up the cleaning though before he came into the living room. He watched them together before he announced his presence.
“So let me get this straight,” Fiona was saying. “You are a witch in real life, so you chose to play a mage on the game. Wouldn't it make more sense to do something exotic, like dual-wielding maces or some such?”
“Perhaps. But I know magic, and it seems more natural, even though pressing a button doesn't feel the same as casting a real spell.”
Fiona shook her head. “Whatever you say.”
Gage finished drying his hands and went to sit down beside his wife. He kissed her cheek lightly. “How's it going?”
“It's going pretty well actually. I've got this lightning bolt spell that I wish I could do in real life, and I'm zapping enemies left and right.” Feeling the pressure of her family's eyes on the couple, she paused the game out. “But I don't think we've got visitors because they want to see me play video games.”
“No, probably not,” Gage agreed.
“We haven't had a chance to talk since you fully regained consciousness and your memories,” Seb confirmed. “I've heard things indirectly from Leo and Skylar, but Justin and I still wanted to know you directly.”
“I can understand that. Feel free to ask me anything.”
“I understand that your mother is a blood witch,” Justin started. “And I know your father was as well. Are you at all worried that it runs in the family line?”
“No, I'm not. Denise, my mother, was always very concerned that I never use it. I know that I was exposed, and I would have dreams about using blood, so I know how to do it. But as far as actually practicing, the witch would be fully aware of what they were doing. Since Fiona and Dymphna were able to g
et the traces of blood magic out of me, I assume that I wasn't permanently tainted. Plus, since they did that, I haven't had any more dreams about it. I also feel confident that when she comes here to Boston, she'll be willing to answer any questions about blood magic or the Dark Order that you have.”
“She's coming to Boston?” Justin asked.
“When she found out that I was moving here to be with Dymphna, she thought that it would be a good move for her to live in the area as well. We've been close all my life, and she wants it to continue that way. Leo told me about the defenses on the Coven House, but other than that, I hope having her move here isn't a problem.”
“Certainly not,” Seb said. “If we've learned one thing, it's that families should stay together as much as possible. Amazingly enough, none of the rest of us have a close relationship with our parents. If you do, you should be proud of it and pursue that.”
“Thank you.”
“What did you do for work before you came here?” Fiona asked.
“I was an elementary school teacher. I called and resigned, and at some point, I'll likely look for a similar job here. I like kids, and I liked being a teacher. I'll miss the kids in my class, but I know that being here is more important.” That got a nod of approval from the mother and the two mothers-to-be.
“Have you talked to Dymphna about your own children?” Melanie asked.
Dymphna sputtered. “That's a little personal, don't you think?”
Melanie looked unrepentant. “I care about you, and everyone's got the question on their mind. I'm just the one to ask it.”
“We haven't discussed it really,” Gage said, squeezing her hand so she'd stop staring daggers at her sister-in-law. “But we're in no rush as far as I know.”
The question and answer session went on a full two hours, but in the last hour Gage was able to ask questions of the Wards as well. Finally, Skylar saved him.
“I think that's enough for tonight. I need Dymphna to give me some magic, and then I need to go to sleep.”
In agreement, everyone stood. Gage was surprised when Justin and Seb gave him back-thumping hugs on the way out, just like they did with Leo, but he returned the gesture.
“Welcome to the family,” Seb said as he left. “We'll see you again later.”
“That's for sure,” Gage said, closing the door. “I plan to stick around.” Only Leo heard the last part, but he looked pleased.
“You're good for my sister,” he said.
“I'm certainly going to try to be. She deserves the best, and I'm going to try to give it to her.”
“Good. I think she's upstairs with my wife already. It took her a long time to decide to like Skylar. In fact, you're the only person I've ever seen D take to so quickly.”
“That's good for me. I asked her if I could call her D as well, but I wanted to be sure that was fine by you.”
“Of course. Whatever D's OK with is OK by me.”
“Thanks.”
“I know she's torn up by what she thinks is a lasting influence of our mother.”
“She is.”
“All of us went through that to some degree when we met our bond-mates. She'll get over it, but just be persistent. I think she has that worry stronger than any of the men did because of how often she was compared to our mother. Having people tell her how alike they were has always made her skittish about how she would handle her magic and possible bond in the future. And now we're in that future, so I know she would still be worried.”
“I'll keep with her on it. She'll see that she's a valuable woman in and of herself soon enough.”
“Good.”
They heard Skylar's voice calling from upstairs. “If you don't come give me a goodnight kiss now, I'll be so asleep it won't matter!”
Leo grinned. “She's soft-spoken, isn't she? Well, I need to go see her before she has a heart attack. I'll see you tomorrow, Gage.”
“Indeed. Goodnight.”
When Gage got to the bedroom he now shared with Dymphna, he started laughing uncontrollably. “Now I see what took you so long when you were getting these,” he said, gesturing at the pile of condom boxes. “There has to be some of every kind they had here.”
“When I got there and looked at all the choices, I realized I didn't have any idea what I was doing. I was too embarrassed to ask the clerk for advice, so I got a little bit of everything.”
“And proceeding up to the counter with all of this wasn't embarrassing?”
“It was. I didn't count on that. But I couldn't steal it, so I just had her put them in a dark bag. What do you think?”
“I think it's going to take a while to use all of these, but I'm more than willing to work on it.”
She smiled. “Good. Why don't you choose one now and we'll give it a try? We need evidence to decide which are best after all.”
“I like the way you think.” For someone who had gone her entire life without sex, Dymphna certainly went head long into experiencing it as much as possible. Not that it was a problem. Far from it.
“Choose one to start with, and choose fast. I have a strong urge to see just how many of those we can try this very evening.”
She giggled and pulled one out at random. “Let's go.”
When they were both as finished as they could be for one night, but not sleepy, they curled up under just the sheet and watched an action movie. Gage couldn't really even say which one because he was paying more attention to the beautiful woman he was holding than he was to the explosions and such on the screen. He'd show her how much he loved her in little details until she was ready to love him in return. As he had told Leo, he was in this for the long haul, and he'd be patient with her until she figured out how well she could handle their relationship. And how she was nothing like her mother when it came to a marriage.
115
CHAPTER SEVEN
The next morning, Dymphna woke up first. It was about nine, so she was getting somewhat back on a normal sleep cycle, even though that meant she hadn't slept many hours the night before. She took her time waking up, something she hadn't done in a long time, like much of what she'd been doing the last week. Was it really just a week? It seemed so much longer.
Eventually she rallied and went downstairs to see if Skylar still had any coffee left. Skylar always seemed to know the best kind of coffee, which was certainly an advantage to having her around.
“Good morning!” Skylar greeted her. “How did you sleep?”
“Really well,” and Dymphna thought she might have managed to not blush when she thought about what she did before they slept. But, as she watched Skylar drink water rather than the delightful coffee she could smell in the pot, Dymphna realized that maybe she should try girl talk with her sister-in-law. They lived in the same house, and Skylar had always been so open and friendly, yet Dymphna had never really taken her up on the offer to just talk. There were a lot of changes she should be making to her life, and what with this sabbatical and her new relationship with Gage, maybe she should really work on changing parts of her life so that she could enjoy it all the more. Working wasn't the only consideration for having a good life, and she was seeing that much clearer now.
She poured herself a large mug of coffee while all that went through her mind, putting just a little sugar and cream in and stirring it up. “So you've been married for a long time,” Dymphna started, watching Skylar's face closely to see how the other woman would react.
“Sure. Some days it feels like longer than others.” She looked cautious, but not unreceptive.
“Can I get your advice as another woman?”
Skylar's face lit up. “I'd love to help. I can never get enough girl talk.” She seemed to see right to the point. Good. This would be good.
“About the sex in particular. Does that driving need to just strip him down and have your way with him get better?”
Skylar giggled. “Not really. In fact, the more you do, the better you get to know what he likes, and the whole proc
ess gets even better. The main thing that has changed for me is just knowing that he'll always be there so it's not an emergency. Before I first started with Leo, I had been through a bad relationship where the jerk cheated on me. So when I met Leo, I kind of expected the other shoe to drop. When I learned about magical marriages and all that meant, the logical side of my brain said that he'd stay with me and be faithful to me. But it took a lot longer than that for my instincts to come to the certain conclusion that I have his love and will have it as long as I live. That's the key thing that keeps me from locking him in the bedroom all day. Though I'll admit that there are times when he says or does something that really gets me, and I have to reign in my need for sex right then and there.”
Dymphna laughed. “It's still a bit weird for me to think of my brother as a husband and soon-to-be father. He's changed a lot since he met you, and that's a good thing.”
“I'm glad you think so.”
“He was my first,” Dymphna blurted out.
“Excuse me?”
“Gage. He's the first man I had sex with.”
“Wow,” Skylar said softly. “I knew you didn't date, but I didn't know it was that serious.”
“I was so afraid of my brothers being over-protective, and then by the time I wasn't afraid of that anymore, I was almost embarrassed to admit it to a potential guy. Then it became a kind of sticking point, like why should I even bother to date someone when the only satisfactory relationship I'll have is with a guy whose magic is attuned to mine.”
“I didn't even know about the relationship side of being a witch. As you know, my aunt Linda was basically waiting until the Dark Order could reform and she could harvest my powers. As such, I knew next to nothing about being a witch except that it was evil. I've learned so much about me since I met you and Leo. I've wondered if I would have made a decision like yours if I had known. But realistically, I can't say whether I would have tried a relationship with people, and nearly married a jerk named Jeremy, if I had known that I'd only have one fulfilling relationship and it wasn't with any of them."
The Responsible Witch (The Ward Witches) Page 9
